The Development of the Fear of COVID-19 Pandemic Scale and the Pandemic Uncertainty Scale

Year 2022, Volume: 25 Issue: 3, 138 - 145, 30.09.2022

Ayse Cal , İlknur Aydın Avcı , Mükerrem Kabataş Yıldız

https://doi.org/10.5152/JANHS.2022.927898

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to develop two separate measurement tools specific to Turkish culture
to evaluate the fear of COVID-19 pandemic and the pandemic uncertainty.

Methods: It is a methodologically designed study. A draft form for both scales was prepared
by the researchers in line with the relevant literature. The forms revised in line with the expert
opinions were administered to 386 university students and their families between May and July
2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences Version 22 and Amos 23 program. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated, and the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and the Pearson correlation analysis
were conducted to test construct validity.

Results: The Fear of COVID-19 Pandemic Scale was found to be acceptable with 1 factor and
8 items, and the Pandemic Uncertainty Scale was found to be acceptable with 3 factors and
18 items. The Cronbach’s alpha of the Fear of COVID-19 Pandemic Scale was found to be 0.92. The
Cronbach’s alpha of the Pandemic Uncertainty Scale was found to be 0.90 and that of the factors
was between 0.86 and 0.89.

Conclusion: It was determined that both scales are reliable and can be used within the Turkish
context.

Keywords

COVID-19, fear, pandemic, reliability, uncertainty, validity

COVID-19 Salgını Korku Ölçeği ve Salgın Hastalık Belirsizlik Ölçeği Geliştirme Çalışması

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, COVID-19 Salgını Korku ve Salgın Hastalık Belirsizlik durumunu
ölçmek için Türk kültürüne özgü iki ayrı ölçüm aracı geliştirmektir.

Yöntem: Metodolojik tasarımlı bir çalışmadır. Araştırmacılar tarafından ilgili literatür doğrultusunda her iki ölçeğe ilişkin taslak form hazırlanmıştır. Uzman görüşleri doğrultusunda düzenlenen
formlar COVID-19 pandemi sürecinde 26 Mayıs-10 Temmuz 2020 tarihleri arasında üniversite
öğrencileri ve ailelerinden oluşan 386 kişiye uygulanmıştır. Veriler SPSS 22 ve Amos 23 programı
kullanılarak, Cronbach alfa, yapı geçerliliğini test etmek için açıklayıcı faktör analizi, doğrulayıcı
faktör analizi ve pearson korelasyon analizi ile değerlendirilmiştir.

Bulgular: COVID-19 Salgını Korku Ölçeği sekiz madde tek boyut, Salgın Hastalık Belirsizlik Ölçeği
18 madde ve üç alt boyut olarak kabul edilebilir bulunmuştur. COVID-19 Salgını Korku Ölçeği
Cronbach alfa değeri ,92; Salgın Hastalık Belirsizlik Ölçeği alt boyutları ,86 ile ,89 arasında olup,
ölçek toplamının Cronbach alfa değeri ,90’dır.

Sonuç: COVID-19 Salgını Korku Ölçeği ve Salgın Hastalık Belirsizlik Ölçeğinin Türk toplumunda
güvenilir bir şekilde kullanılacağı tespit edilmiştir.

Keywords

COVID-19, korku, pandemi, güvenirlik, belirsizlik, geçerlik

References

• 1. Remuzzi A, Remuzzi G. COVID-19 and Italy: What next? Lancet. 2020;395(10231):1225-1228. [CrossRef]
• 2. Aslan MM, Yuvacı HU, Kose O, Cevrilioglu AS, Ozden S. COVID-19 and pregnancy. J Biotechnol Strateg Health Res. 2020;4:10-13.
• 3. World Health Organization (WHO). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic; 2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/covid-19 (Access date: 27.04.2021).
• 4. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDPC). COVID-19 pandemic; 2020. Available at: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en (Access date: 27.04.2021).
• 5. Shigemura J, Ursano RJ, Morganstein JC, Kurosawa M, Benedek DM. Public responses to the novel 2019 coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Japan: Mental health consequences and target populations. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020;74(4):281-282. [CrossRef]
• 6. Shin LM, Liberzon I. The neurocircuitry of fear, stress, and anxiety disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2010;35(1):169-191. [CrossRef]
• 7. Bakıoğlu F, Korkmaz O, Ercan H. Fear of COVID-19 and positivity: Mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress. Int J Ment Health Addict. 2020;1:1-14.
• 8. Sherman AL. Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: A brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety. Death Stud. 2020;44(7):393-401.
• 9. Türkiye Psikiyatri Derneği. Mental health and coping with stress during the coronavirus disease outbreak; 2020. Available at: https://www.psikiyatri.org.tr/2147/koronavirus-hastaligi-salgini-sirasinda-ruh-sagligi-ve-stresle-bas-etme.
• 10. Li S, Wang Y, Xue J, Zhao N, Zhu T. The impact of COVID-19 epidemic declaration on psychological consequences: A study on active Weibo users. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(6):2032. [CrossRef]
• 11. Aktan E. Social media and social anxiety: A research on social media users. J Selcuk Commun. 2018;11(2):35-53.
• 12. Din.er A. Fear: Its language, conceptualization, cultural aspect. Int J Turk Lit Cult Educ. 2017;6(2):769-798.
• 13. Yuksel B. The Search for a Model That Integrates the Relationship between Attachment, Positive and Negative Emotion Regulation, and Intolerance to Uncertainty in Explaining the Symptoms of Anxiety. Master Thesis, Ankara Hacettepe University; 2014.
• 14. Arpaci I, Karataş K, Baloğlu M. The development and initial tests for the psychometric properties of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S). Pers Individ Dif. 2020;164:(110108):1-6. [CrossRef]
• 15. Ladikli N, Bahadır E, Yumuşak FN, Akkuzu H, Karaman G, Türkkan Z. The reliability and validity of Turkish version of coronavirus anxiety scale. Int J Soc Sci. 2020;3(2):71-80.
• 16. Champion VL, Skinner CS, Menon U, et al. A breast cancer fear scale: Psychometric development. J Health Psychol. 2004;9(6):753-762. [CrossRef]
• 17. Mishel MH. Reconceptualization of the uncertainty in illness theory. Image J Nurs Sch. 1990;22(4):256-262. [CrossRef]
• 18. Zhang Y. Uncertainty in illness: Theory review, application, and extension. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2017;44(6):645-649. [CrossRef]
• 19. Beck AT, Epstein N, Brown G, Steer RA. An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1988;56(6):893-897. [CrossRef]
• 20. Ulusoy M, Sahin NH. Turkish version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric properties. J Cogn Psychother. 1998;12(2):163-172.
• 21. Ozdamar K. Statistical Data Analysis with Package Programs-II, (Multivariate Methods). 9th ed. Nisan Bookstore; 2013.
• 22. Maughan S, Styles B, Lin Y, Kirkup C. Partial Estimates of Reliability: Parallel Form Reliability in the Key Stage 2 Science Tests. National Foundation for Educational Research UK; 2009.
• 23. Gürbüz S. Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS. 1st ed. Seçkin Publishing; 2019.
• 24. Gürbüz S, Şahin F. Research Methods in Social Sciences. 5th ed. Seçkin Publishing; 2018.
• 25. Byrne BM. Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS. 3rd ed. Routledge; 2016.
• 26. Hu L-T, Bentler PM. Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: Sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychol Methods. 1998;3(4):424-453. [CrossRef]
• 27. Kline RB. Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. 84th ed. The Guildford Press; 2016.
• 28. Capik C. Use of confirmatory factor analysis in validity and reliability studies. J Anatolia Nurs Health Sci. 2014;17(3):198-205.
• 29. Bujang MA, Omar ED, Baharum NA. A review on sample size determination for Cronbach's alpha test: A simple guide for researchers. Malays J Med Sci. 2018;25(6):85-99. [CrossRef]